THE SEA FISHERIES OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. 101 

 THE GREENLAND HALIBUT BANKS. 



Mr. X. P. Scudder makes the following statement about the grounds 

 in Davis Strait which are resorted to by the halibut fishermen of 

 Gloucester : 



u The fishing banks are 15 to 40 miles from the coast, and, if we can rely 

 upon the Danish charts, extend from Disko Bay to within 3° of Cape Fare- 

 well ; for these charts give soundings all along the coast between these 

 two points. Extensive as the banks may be, only a small part of them, 

 the part about Holsteinborg and Cape Amalia has been tried by Amer- 

 ican fishermen. That the fish are to be found throughout the whole ex- 

 tent is more than probable; for the species is identical with that taken 

 on the Grand Banks, and we would naturally infer it would be found 

 in all favorable situations within the limits of its distribution. It is 

 also reported that Capt. Rasmus Madson, commonly known as 'Cap- 

 tain Hamilton,' who has been to Greenland several times, set his 

 trawls for these fish farther to the south (probably off of Godtbaab) and 

 found them very abundant, but was unable to secure many on account 

 of the numerous ground-sharks playing the mischief with his trawls. 



"The depth of water on the banks is from 15 to 90 fathoms. 

 * * * At the inner edge the banks have a sudden slope, leaving 

 a long submarine valley, the depth of which I did not ascertain, between 

 them and the mainland. The surface of the banks is varied, though 

 generally rocky, with here and there sandy and clayey spots. The 

 character of the fauna varies considerably and often abruptly in places 

 a little distance apart. * * * The halibut were also more plen- 

 tiful upon the edge than any other part of the bank. * * * It 

 will readily be seen from the preceding remarks that a careful survey 

 of the banks, with the view of determining their limits, character, and 

 fauna, could not fail of being of great use to the fishing interest, to say 

 nothing of its immense importance from a natural history and geolog- 

 ical point of view." (Eeport U. S. F. C, 18S0, pages 19314.) 



Besides the banks that have been described there are many small 

 patches, generally some part of the shore soundings, along the coastfrom 

 Florida to Maine which are resorted to by small boats and also by larger 

 craft. Although these fishing-grounds are important in the aggregate 

 there are none of them sufficiently large to require a special description 

 in this place. 



Mention should also be made of some of the more noted inshore 

 fishing-grounds of the north. Among these, perhaps the most impor- 

 tant is the Strait of Belle Isle, though at present this locality is rarely 

 visited by fishiug vessels of the United States. The inshore halibut 

 grounds, along the shores of Auticosti Island and the coast of Lower 

 Labrador, were important for a few years, 1870 to 1S74, but have seldom 

 been visited since 1S75, the few trips that have been made to those lo- 

 calities since that period being usually unremunerative. Other inshore 



